Chapter 82: Retribution Is Not Pleasant
After an afternoon of futile searching, as nightfall arrived, Pei Ningle couldn’t help but start doubting whether that scene she had seen earlier was an illusion.
The mobile phone she used wasn’t a smartphone, so she couldn’t browse web pages. All the information about Han Yixuan that she had found online was noted down in a notebook. In the schoolbag on her back were that notebook and binoculars.
She hadn’t brought the paper slip left by the hamster; the handwriting in the notebook was all content she had written herself. She had no evidence on her that could prove the reality of that earlier scene.
Walking on the Finance University campus, Pei Ningle couldn’t help but suspect—things like the hamster and Han Yixuan, could they all be her own illusions?
“Thinking carefully, how could a hamster understand humanity? That’s too ridiculous!”
The young girl sat on the roadside bench, gazing at the dormitory building not far away, murmuring to herself.
The achievement of her efforts this afternoon was narrowing the search range to this one dormitory building. By persistently asking passersby one after another, she had confirmed that the dormitory for first-year girls in the Finance Department should be in this building.
But were these efforts useful?
Could it be that this first love ended too quickly, frying her mind and causing hallucinations?
No matter how she thought about it, her brain producing hallucinations seemed more reasonable than a hamster understanding humanity…
Just as Pei Ningle began to suspect whether she should go see a psychologist, suddenly, her gaze fell on the face of a girl who had just walked out of the dormitory building.
That face—she had stared at various photos of it for half an hour, so she absolutely wouldn’t mistake it.
“Han Yixuan…”
Pei Ningle softly uttered the other girl’s name, instinctively lowering her head to take out her mobile phone, trying not to let the other notice her. But her gaze stubbornly peered out through the gap in her bangs, tightly fixed on that girl.
Han Yixuan was walking side by side with another girl, exiting the dormitory building, heading in some direction.
When the other passed by not far from her, Pei Ningle suddenly stood up, continuing to pretend to look down at her mobile phone, quietly following behind.
In this close-distance stalking state, Pei Ningle soon overheard quite a bit of useful information. This also made her secretly sigh that this trip today was truly worthwhile.
As for that hamster, it definitely wasn’t just simply understanding humanity; it was probably a spirit possessing it, right?
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With Han Yixuan’s personality and emotional intelligence, in the short month since the start of school, she had already become the most popular one in the dormitory.
Just like many girls’ dormitories, the one she was in also had undercurrents surging beneath the surface harmony.
Tonight was the same; the roommate beside her kept complaining nonstop about another roommate’s sloppiness, while Han Yixuan nodded in agreement from time to time along with exclamations, but didn’t actively share others’ dirt.
However, the young girls’ topics always jumped around like little deer; in an instant, the complaints about the roommate’s living habits shifted to complaints about her taste in partners, then jumped to “Why don’t you date?”
Han Yixuan smiled and said, “Because I already have someone I like.”
“Oh ho…” The roommate immediately got excited. “You’ve never told us about it before. Who is it? That third-year senior disciple from Business Administration?”
Han Yixuan shook her head.
The roommate guessed again: “Then, is it the vice president of the Student Union? After the last gathering, he even offered to walk you back to the dormitory…”
Han Yixuan smiled and said, “And I refused him.”
“Got it, so not him. So which lucky boy is it?”
“There’s no need to know…”
“Come on, I’m super curious!” The roommate grabbed her hand, firmly not giving her room to dodge. “Tell me, which handsome guy!”
Han Yixuan couldn’t resist, and feeling that revealing a bit of the truth here wasn’t a big deal, she said, “A classmate of mine from high school.”
She didn’t notice that someone not far behind her was staring intently, holding her breath in concentration, not willing to miss a single word.
The roommate was still curious: “Is he the particularly handsome type?”
“A bit handsome, but not to the ‘particularly handsome’ level…” Han Yixuan recalled that guy’s appearance. “But he feels very gentle and kind. I had an impression of him since first year of high school. His grades were better than mine; he explained problems to me many times, and during big cleaning, he even voluntarily helped me take out the trash.”
“Eh? So our Han beauty falls for such small favors?”
Han Yixuan shook her head: “Not small favors. I could feel it, from second year of high school… Occasional chats, when borrowing stationery our hands would touch, and other brief moments of getting along—I could feel he liked me too. And it’s the kind that makes you feel very secure, a steady and long-lasting like, not the fidgety feeling from other boys.”
“Since you like him and he likes you, why aren’t you together?”
Han Yixuan shook her head again, but this time with much more melancholy.
The young girl said wistfully, “Because of some reasons, he… Anyway, we just didn’t end up together.”
Perhaps infected by her emotion, the roommate also quieted down.
The two girls walked silently toward the campus supermarket—tonight, they had come out of the dormitory together to buy things like laundry detergent and other daily necessities.
But less than ten seconds later, the roommate couldn’t help stopping and asking, “So do you still like that high school classmate now?”
Han Yixuan nodded: “Even more.”
The roommate was baffled: “Why? Logically, long-distance relationship feelings should fade over time, especially since you never even dated. Could it be that what you can’t get is what you want most?”
“What you can’t get is the best?” Han Yixuan gave a self-mocking smile. “Maybe, but he and I don’t count as a long-distance relationship. The school he attends is also in Rongdu; you can get there by subway.”
The roommate was startled: “So you still plan to pursue him?”
“Hehehe, why not?” The smile at the corner of Han Yixuan’s mouth became even more obvious.
“But you’re not without suitors…”
“But I don’t like those pursuing me.”
“But girls…”
Han Yixuan held up her index finger and slowly shook it, seriously saying, “I don’t think girls have to stand still waiting for others to pursue them; that’s too passive. Everyone is human, with their own preferences and thoughts—why be a stationary target? If being pursued is what gives face, sorry, I think sticking to your true likes is more important than boring face.”
“Didn’t expect it, Han beauty really has individuality…” The roommate remarked with emotion. “So, what’s your heartthrob’s name?”
Han Yixuan chuckled lightly: “His surname is Wang, the Wang from next-door Old Wang.”
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